U.S. Appeals to the Arab Countries to Settle Palestine Refugees

November 17, 1955

UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. (Nov. 16)

A powerful appeal to the leaders of the Arab nations to help settle the Arab refugee problem through such constructive plans as the Jordan River valley project proposed by United States Special Ambassador Eric Johnston was made here on behalf of the United States today by James J. Wadsworth, a member of the U.S. delegation.

Enunciating his government’s policy in respect to the Arab refugees in the debate on that issue before the General Assembly’s Special Political Committee, Mr. Wadsworth directed his appeal entirely to the Arab states pleading with them to “view the refugee as an important asset–not, as is too often implied here in debate, an unwanted liability.”

The Israel-Arab conflicts are urgent and must be settled, Mr. Wadsworth declared. “But,” he continued, “the inability to settle these problems must not stand in the way of what, in our opinion, is the most important matter before us–namely, the maintenance and improvement of the lot of the Arab refugee. This responsibility should elicit from us all–but particularly from the Arab states directly concerned, whose brothers these re###gees are–all the courage and imagination that their leaders have at their command.”

Repeating his plea to the Arab leaders, Mr. Wadsworth asserted that implementation of a plan like the Johnston project would constitute “a start for a new and better Arab world.”